Everything's Better With Him
by spaceman-earthgirl
Summary: The first time she said "I love you" was not while standing on a bomb.


Set early season 5. I was working on **She's Real** but got distracted by this idea.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.**

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Beckett was nervous as she stood outside Castle's door, unsure if she'd made the right decision in coming over to his loft or not. But she'd wanted to see him. He'd been busy with book meetings all day and she missed him so she thought she'd come by and visit him tonight.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she raised her hand and knocked, hoping he was home.

She heard movement on the other side of the door, the lock turning and thenall her nerves dissipated when the door opened and there stood Castle, grinning at her.

Beckett bit her lip, trying to contain the smile that always seemed to be present where he was involved.

"Hey," said Castle, his voice soft as he stepped back to let her in.

"Hey," Beckett replied, shrugging out of her coat as Castle closed the door behind them and locked it.

"What brings you here?" Castle asked, the smile still present on his face, before he quickly added, "not that I'm complaining, of course."

"I missed you today," Beckett said shyly, still not used to being this open with him, not used to being able to tell him things like this.

"I missed you too," Castle answered, moving his hands to place them on Beckett's hips and pulling her against him. Once she was pressed to him, he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, relishing the feel of Kate Beckett so close.

"Hey," he whispered again, leaning his forehead against hers.

"Hey yourself," Beckett whispered back, wondering now why she'd ever doubted her idea to visit him.

They were dating, they could do things like this now. She could call or text him because she missed him. She could turn up late at night just to say hello and give him a goodnight kiss.

"Drink?" Castle asked, pulling away from her but taking her hand as he moved towards the kitchen.

"Please," she replied, still so amazed at how easily they'd become, this.

All the times she'd thought about what it would be like to be with Castle, and not just the sex, but to actually be with him, to date him, she'd always wondered if their relationship could handle that. If they could go from best friends to being more, to sharing everything and just being together while still being able to work together. And apparently they could, if the last few weeks were anything to go by. They'd had a rocky start but now everything was going so great and she couldn't be happier about it.

Castle handed her a drink and Beckett shook herself out of her thoughts, following him over to the couch and taking a seat beside him.

He hit play on whatever movie he'd been watching before she'd arrived and she didn't even bother to take notice as he placed his drink on the table and leaned back to put his arm around her, pulling her into his side.

This, how comfortable they were with each other, was just one of the many things she was loving about their new relationship.

Beckett settled against his side,still not knowing what movie they were watching as she became distracted by Castle rubbing small circles on her upper arm. No other man had ever had this power over her, had been able to distract her so easily just with a simple touch and she knew now that whether she'd planned to or not, she wouldn't be spending the night alone tonight.

"What were you planning to do if I didn't interrupt your evening?" Beckett asked a little while later, comfy against Castle's side and playing with the fingers of the hand that wasn't wrapped around her.

"I would've just finished watching this movie, maybe written a little before going to bed."

"Liar," Beckett laughed.

"So maybe I was trying to distract myself," Castle said, slightly embarrassed at his words.

"Distract yourself?" Beckett asked, wondering what the look of embarrassment was for.

"I knew you were busy with work and didn't want to annoy you so I tried to find ways to occupy my evening. Writing didn't work, I couldn't stop thinking about you so I thought maybe a movie would help. That wasn't working either. I was trying to either find something else to distract myself or find a reason to call you when you knocked at the door," he answered, turning his head away so she wouldn't see the red staining his cheeks.

That was actually really sweet. And he was never annoying.

Beckett reached up her hand and put it under his chin, turning his head so he was facing her again, "you know you can always call me."

"I wanted to give you some space," Castle answered, still afraid to put too much into this relationship in case his intensity scared her.

"Castle, I don't want space, I want you."

Beckett blushed at her admission, one she'd made before but this one had a slightly different meaning. This time she already had him but still wanted him anyway.

"Really?" Castle asked quietly, and he knew they'd talked about this but he was still unsure, still doubted that this was real and it wouldn't be taken from him all of a sudden.

"Really, Castle," she said, trying to let all that she felt for him show on her face and then she realised that if she was willing to show him, why not say the words so he had no doubt in his mind how she really felt about him.

"I love you."

Beckett had said the words quietly but she knew he'd heard because of his sharp intake of breath.

"Kate?" he asked weakly, not sure he'd heard her right but hoping desperately he had.

"I love you," she said more firmly, turning her body more into his. "I love you."

"I love you, too"

And then he was grinning and showering her face in kisses, whispering "I love you" after every one as she giggled in his arms, relieved that she'd finally been able to tell him how she felt.

Beckett was right, she didn't spend that night alone. But the next morning when he woke her with whispered "I love you's" against her skin, she knew she'd done the right thing. Because she'd already known how he felt about her, but now he knew how she felt in return.

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What did you think?


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